The Yankees utility players, Ronald
Torreyes (0.3 WAR), Tyler Wade (-0.1 WAR) and Neil Walker (-0.1 WAR) had a
combined WAR of .1 in 2018, and while they are all serviceable as utility
players or as players off the bench, this is an area where the Yankees could use
an upgrade in 2019.

Evaluating possible non-tender candidates for the Yankees

The
Yankees are going to need to make some minor moves soon in order to create
enough spots on their 40-man roster to protect their plethora of young talent
from the Rule 5 draft. Here is who could be on the chopping block as a
non-tender candidate or possible trade candidate in the coming weeks:

Photo Credit: AP

Garrett Cooper/ Tyler Austin

The
Yankees were faced with a great deal of adversity at first base last season due
to injuries and underperformances. Greg Bird’s solid September and postseason
all but cemented him as the first baseman of the future barring injury. This
leaves this duo of first baseman without a clear starting position and the
Yankees will likely decide that one of them is not worth hanging on to at the expense
of a greater talent. Both Cooper and Austin have displayed glimpses of solid
play at the major league level, but one of them may still be seeing their way
out of the Bronx. Both players do have some trade value, so Cashman may seek
out a trade partner for one of these two players, but if it comes down to it,
their non-tendering may be inevitable.

Giovanny Gallegos/ Jonathan
Holder

Frequent
passengers on the infamous Scranton Shuttle, both Holder and Giovanny Gallegos
were odd men out of the bullpen once the Yankees bolstered it at the Trade
Deadline. Gallegos’ 4.87 ERA illustrates how mediocre he was in his brief stints,
but the Yankees may value his ability to whiff opposing hitters. Holder was
able to pitch 39 innings, but seemed to lose his edge in the month of June,
which led to his eventual demotion. With the bullpen mostly set for 2017, the
Yankees could opt to let go one of these guys in favor of adding a pitcher like
Albert Abreu to the 40-man.

Photo Credit: AP

Bryan Mitchell/ Luis Cessa

Both
of these have solid stuff, but a combination of ineffectiveness and injuries
may help see themselves out of the Bronx. Mitchell was a frontrunner to win the
fifth starter job out of Spring Training last season, but saw his chances
ultimately crushed due to an injury. After coming back he was simply not the
same, and all Yankee fans remember the grand slam he served up at Citi Field
last summer. Cessa had some extended stints as a starter due to injuries to CC
Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Michael Pineda, but did not post fantastic
numbers. Both pitchers proved to be home run prone and are expendable due to
the Yankees strength of minor league pitching depth.

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The scene was set for the
young budding Bomber squad last fall after finishing their season a game away
from a World Series berth. They were the team that arrived a year too early,
and another deep playoff run would be the goal, but then an old friend threw a
wrench in those plans. Derek Jeter put gargantuan slugger Giancarlo Stanton on
the market, and Stanton dictated his transfer with a full no-trade clause. The
Giants and Cardinals among others threw their name into the ring, but who did
he choose? The Yankees and Dodgers, it seemed to be a battle of baseballs
powerhouses, but the Yankees had an advantage over their former neighbors,
payroll flexibility. They were able to use this into an absolute steal of the
reigning NL MVP, and the Yankees were thrust into a world series or bust year.
The season was historic, they set the season home run record without Gary
Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird, and Aaron Judge for most if not all of the
year, but it ended in a bust at the hands of…

The
speculation started during the regular season, even prior to his trade from the
Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Where would Manny Machado go upon
his free agency at the end of the 2018 regular season? And, with that, which
teams would be knocking on his door? No
sooner did the Yankees’ regular season come to a close after their fated ending
in the American League Division Series, the talks of Machado coming to the
Bronx took off as though pushed by a speeding 4 Train behind Yankee Stadium. The
truth of the matter is that the rumors started even prior to Machado’s free
agency being on the horizon -- they started
at the trade deadline.

Yankee fans are left with more questions than answers following Clint Frazier’s injury riddled 2018. Frazier suffered through concussion symptoms throughout his 2018 campaign, which saw him appear in 69 games between the minors and the big leagues. Now, Yankees fans wonder what 2019 will hold for the 24 year-old.

Miguel Andujar’s 2018
arrival in the big leagues on April 1st had been much anticipated by Yankee
fans and we were rewarded with a Rookie of the Year performance by one of the
most exciting players in all of Major League Baseball.

Corey Kluber is the difference
maker and impact arm the Yankees need atop their rotation. In 2017 and
2018, Yankee fans wished ace-like status on Luis Severino, but his
inconsistencies have left him just short of owning the name. Kluber, 32,
has been the definition of consistent for the Cleveland Indians, winning 18+
games four out of the last five years and winning 20 games in 2018 for the
first time in his career. Kluber has posted an ERA below 3.50 every season
since 2014, and has struck out at least 220 hitters in the same span. Kluber
keeps getting better, and is not showing any signs of regression. Kluber is an
ace, the ace the Yankees need.

There’s
no easy way to answer this question. Or, rather, there’s no one answer. The
surrounding factors change, creating different situations and, as such,
different fits -- both from a financial and from a team standpoint. A case can
be made to bring back either of these free agents, or both of them, or…
neither. But it’s almost impossible to make a blanket answer that fits in every
possible scenario.

It
felt like a shoe-in. So much so, in fact, that I advocated
for what I thought was the inevitable all the way back in September, before the
BBWAA even announced the nominees for American League Rookie of the Year.

First acquired in a relatively
small-time, 40-man sell-off move around this time last year that sent 1B
Garrett Cooper and LHP Caleb Smith to Miami, Michael King was seen as a young
right hander with promise, but one still years away from making any significant
Major League impact.At the time, the
important part of that trade was the $250,000 international bonus pool money
Miami included, which we all thought was to be used on Shohei Ohtani.Ohtani, obviously, never ended up in the Bronx
and will not pitch at all in 2019 after undergoing offseason Tommy John
Surgery.

Flashback to July 3rd -
the Mariners had just won their eighth consecutive game, putting them 20 games
above .500 and in possession of the third-best record in baseball. Everything
was going right in Seattle, and it surely seemed as if the M’s infamous 17-year
playoff drought would finally come to an end. Just two and a half months later
on September 22nd, the Mariners were eliminated from playoff contention,
following a dreadful summer slump and the concurrent surge of the
division-rival Athletics.

I
cannot count the number of times I tweeted about the Yankees and their problem
with RISP and situational offense over the course of the 2018 season. Of
course, the Yankees won 100 games on the regular season, and that statistic is
nothing to sniff at. They also claimed the single-season home run record. And
that’s great.